Newspaper Page Text
JUNE 26, 1937
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC I AYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FIVE
SPRING HILL DEGREE
FOR THIRTY SENIORS
Honorary Doctorate Con
ferred on Editor of The
Bulletin at Commencement
p— o
Four Georgians received de
grees in courses at the annual
commencement exercises at
Spring Hill College, James B.
Reilly of Thomasville, and Clif
ford Edward Stults, Jr., Savan
nah who were awarded their
Bachelor of Arts degree, and
John Joseph Tarantino and
John B. Thompson, Jr., who re
ceived the degree of Bachelor of
Science in Commerce.
*L : o
(Special to The Bulletin)
MOBILE, Ala. — Thirty seniors re
ceived degrees at the one hundred and
seventh annual commencement exer
cises at Spring Hill College May 25 at
which the Most Rev, Thomas J. Tool-
en, D. D„ Bishop of Mobile, presided.
The address was delivered by Rich
ard Reid, editor of The Bulletin, who
received the honorary degree of Doc
tor of Laws. The Very Rev. John J.
Druhan, S.J., delivered the presiden
tial address, and the Rev. Andrew C.
Smith, S. J.. Ph. D., dean of the col
lege, presented the candidates for de
grees. Jack Bland of Memphis was
valedictorian, and the final address
Was delivered by Bishop Toolen.
An academic procession of the grad
uates and faculty members from Mo
bile Hall to the Byrne Library, where
the commencement exercises were
held, preceded the commencement
program; a detail of the National Guard
assisted.
The Rev. Walter H. Royer, pastor of
St. Matthew’s Church, Mobile, deliv
ered the baccalaureate sermon the pre
vious Sunday, the Rev. David R. Lorig,
S.J., student counsellor, being cele
brant of the Mass. The annual gradua
tion eve reception was held in the
Byrne Memorial Library, with the par
ents of the graduates as guests of hon
or.
The degree of Bachelor of Arts was
awarded Francis J. Andrews. Thomas
Douglass Bell and John Lawrence
Lavretta, Jr., Mobile, Frank E. De-
Coursey, Kansas City, Mo., William P.
Flanagan. Bangor. Maine, James B.
Reilly, Thomasville, Ga.. Clifford E.
Stults, Jr., Savannah, and Matthew C.
Thompson, Jr., Monroe, La.
The Eachelor of Science degree was
awarded George Breen Bland and
John Dietrich Bland. Memphis, James
F. Borthwick, Jr., Hattiesburg. Miss.,
Michael J. Donahue, Jr.. Spring Hill,
Ferdinand E. Greifenstein and Milton
M. Leibeskind, Newark, N. J., Alvin
B. Hayes. Atmore. Ala., Cecil Wood-
ville Miller and Albert J. Pilkington,
Mobile, and Daniel C. Walsh, Bogalu-
Ea, La.
The Bachelor of Science degree in
Commerce was awarded John Joseph
Tarantino and John B. Thompson, Jr.,
Savannah, Herbert E. Lawley, Chun-
chula. Ala., and Harold G. Allen,
Francis E. Busby, Billie Martin Byrd,
James R. Crittenden, Philip E. Duval,
William R. Farnell, Jr., and Robin C.
Herndon, Jr., Alton H. Maner was
awarded the degree of Bachelor of
Philosophy.
Richard Maher Heads
S. C. State Council
Named State Deputy of
Convention in Charleston
CHARLESTON, S. C. - The annual
convention here of the Knights of Co
lumbus of South Carolina, named
Richard T. Maher, of Columbia, state
deputy and selected his home city as
the 1938 convention site.
L. Blaze, Jr., Columbia, was elect
ed state secretary; J. J. McDevitt,
Greenville, treasurer, A. M. O’Neil,
Charleston, state advocate and Wil
liam C. Ehrhardt, state warden.
Mr. Maher succeeds John I. Cos
grove of Charleston. The retiring and
newly elected state deputy were nam
ed delegates to a national convention
in August at San Antonio. Texas. John
Parks, Jr.. Columbia, and Harry S.
Kruse, Charleston, will be alternates.
The stdte convention opened here
With a Mass at the Sacred Heart
Parish Church. The address of wel
come was given by the Rev. Henry
T. Wolfe, pastor and state chaplain.
Business session was held at Colum
bus Hall, delegates later assembling at
Folly Beach for dinner served at the
Elks Home. The P. N. Lynch Coun
cil, No. 704 entertained at a private
home on the beach.
General observance of Good Friday
by commercial houses of South Caro
lina, particularly in large cities, was
urged in a resolution adopted at the
business session.
SAN FRANCISCO will be host
June 25-27 to the seventh annual
convention of the Catholic Laymen’s
Retreat Associaton. The speakers
will include eight members of the
hierachy and Governor Frank Mur
phy of Michigan. Leo A. Cunning
ham of San Francisco is national
president.
Bishop O’Hara Describes the
Last Link of Journey Which
TookHim Around the World
China, Japan and Hawaii Fete Cardinal Dougherty and
His Party as They Return to United States From
Eucharistic Congress in Manila
Hongkong, the city so well known to
foreign missionaries as the port where
they get their first glimpse of China,
was our first stop after we left Ma
nila. It is the point from which many
a missionary has begun his long and
arduous journey to the lonely mis
sions in the inland sections of Cathay
It is the place to which they come
to rest from time to time after their
labors.
But first let me tell you about the
boat which took us there, and which
carried us eventually to the United
States. It was Japanese, and was
called the “Tatsuta Maru,” of the
Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line, which
keeps the Japanese flag flying on ev
ery sea of the world. It was a beau
tiful boat, trim, and well built. Its
commander. jCaptain Ito, was a Cath
olic, and, like the skipper of the Hes
perus, had .taken his daughter with
him—a charming little girl of about
fourteen, who was perpetually smil
ing. She was returning to Kobe in
Japan from the Eucharistic Congress.
THE TATSUTA MARU—With the
exception of a few Chinese, the crew
and the entire personnel were Japan
ese—most courteous, and most effi
cient- I found that the Tatsuta Maru,
although belonging to a pagan com
pany, was even better equipped for
holding Catholic services than the
Conte Rosso. The main salon con
tained six altars, with the seventh lo
cated on the stage at 6ne end of this
room. Another very beautiful public
room of the boat was furnished with
five altars. One of them, the main
altar, was perfectly liturgical in its
every detail. It was on this altar that
the Blessed Sacrament was reserved,
and it was here that the passengers,
most of whom were Catholics, gath
ered every evening during the long
sea voyage from Manila to San Fran
cisco to assist at Benediction. In this
room the Stations of the Cross had
been erected. All day long there was
always a group kneeling in adoration
before the Blessed Sacrament.
Like the “Normandie’’ crossing the
Atlantic, and the “Conte Rosso” that
bore us from Naples to Manila, the
“Tatsuta Maru” flew the Papal Flag
whenever it entered any port—a most
unusual sight in the Far East.
The passenger list was a catalogue
of international names, so numerous
were the countries reprsented by
those on board: several American
Bishops, including Archbishop Mitty
of San Francisco, Archbishop Rum-
mel of New Orleans, Archbishop Ger-
ken of Santa Fe. and Bishop Edwin
Byrne of Porto Rico were our fellow
passengers, together with Bishop Mc-
Closkey of the Philippine Islands:
Archbishop Chambon, Archbishop of
Tokyo, and Bishop Ross, S. J., Vicar
Apostolic of Hiro Shima, Japan-
The sea became very rough before
we were far from Manila, and many
of the passengers were sick, but by
the time we sailed into the beautiful
harbor of Hongkong, two days after
leaving Manila, every one was in
good health again. Hongkong is a de
lightful city, and has been called the
“Riviera of the Orient” because of the
beautiful wooded hills that surround
it.
Our boat docked at Kowloon, just
opposite Hongkong. Ferries conveyed
the passengers to the main city itself.
We found the natives preparing for
the Chinese New Year, and the
whole city was en fete.
HONGKONG—The city and port of
Hongkong are owned by the British,
and we had hardly docked at Kow
loon when a messenger arrived bear
ing a most cordial invitation from
the English Governor of the city to
take tea with him at five o’clock. We
enjoyed a very pleasant hour with
the Govmor. and found him and his
staff very cordial indeed.
The city was alive with ginrikshas
—a favorite means of transportation
in China, those man-drawn vehicles
I described in a former article. The
men whopulled these carriages seem
ed to be made of but skin and bones,
yet they were tireless, and could
keep up a jogging trot indefinitely.
We spent aobut twenty-four hours at
Hongknog, and sailing away from
that very busy eastern port, it was
not long before we found ourselves
sailing up the Yangtze River to
Shanghai, one of the most interesting
cities in the world.
SHANGHAI is the home town of
the famous Catholic Chinese philan
thropist, Mr- La Pa Hong, of whom
I have previously written. But what
a change in the weather greeted us a3
we neared the city! We shivered in
the cold, as we slowly moved up the
river, and the falling snow, driven by
a bleak wind was a strange contrast
to the tropical heats of a few days
before. The biting wind kept most of
the passengers of fthe decks. Soon,
however, people forgot the cold as we
drew nigh to Shanghai.
Approaching the pier of the N. Y.
K. Line, we saw, whipping and snap
ping in the stiff breeze, a huge white
banner bearing a Latin message of
welcome to Cardinal Dougherty.
Crowds. lined the pier and the sur
rounding docks. Soon the air was
rent with the noise of exploding fire
works—the traditional Chines^ meth
od of showing public joy on impor
tant occasions.
At the head of the delegation await
ing the Cardinal at the pier was
Bishop Augustus Haouisee, S. J., of
Shanghai, and Mr. Lo Pa Hong. It
was fairly dark by the time we were
able to get on shore. We were con
ducted to various Catholic institutions
of the city, and wound up our series
of visits by attending a dinner which
Mr. Lo Pa Hong tendered the Cardi
nal in the auditorium of St. Joseph's
College.
Just previous, to the dinner, how
ever, the Mayor of Shanghai, a rath
er youngish man—entertained the
Cardinal and his party in his private
residence, and made a most gracious
address, to which the Cardinal re
sponded—pleasing his Chinese audi
tors by his reference to various mod
ern inventions and institutions which
owe their origin to the Chinese.
CHINESE BANQUET
The dinner at St. Joseph’s College
was thoroughly Chinese. It began
with soup, the principal ingredients
of which, I was told, were sharks’
fins and birds’ nests. I do not recall
how many courses there were, but I
know they were numerous, and many
of them unrecognizable. In such cir
cumstances, politeness and courtesy
are put to a severe test. The Cardi
nal sat opposite his host, and I sat at
his right. We therefore, could not
turn down all the dishes that were
served, but had to make brave at
tempts to relish what was placed be
fore us.
The next morning Cardinal Dough
erty said Mass in one of the many in
stitutions that Lo Pa Hong maintains
for the poor, the sick, the crippled
and the aged in Shanghai, the Mass
being served by Mr. Lo Pa Hong
himself.
The next day was the Chinese New
Year, and the city was shut tight.
Not a store was open. However,
there were no signs of revelry, and
there were very few people on the
streets. Perhaps the intense cold had
something to do with keeping them
indoors.
EN ROUTE TO JAPAN
We left Shanghai that morning and
were soon again on the open sea—
sailing up the Chinese coast on the
way to Japan. It was night—two and
one-half days later—when we came
in sight of the coast of Japan, enter
ed the Inland Sea. sailing past the
wondrously illuminated City of
Shimonaseki. All night long we
were in the Inland Sea. and in the
morning passed close by an extinct
volcano, notorious as the scene of
many a Japanese suicide. Into its
deep crater many a Japanese has
hurled himself to death. They told
us on board that when a person pur
chased a one-way ticket to this isl
and from Kobe, it meant that he
would not need a return ticket, as he
intended to end his life. Some years
ago the government passed a law ac
cording to which only round-trip
tickets were sold to this place. This
regulation noticeably cut down the
number of suicides.
Shortly before noon we reached
Kobe.
KOBE has a population of almost
one million, and is one of the two
largest trading posts in Japan, the
other being Yokohama. Barred in
by the Rokko Mountain Range at the
back, Kobe enjoys a very temperate
climate in winter, and is a favorite
place of residence for foreigners. The
city has spread lengthwise—east and
west—along the shores of the bay.
and the business quarter is situated
near the water front, with the resi
dential quarter on the slopes of the
hills. It is a travel center, railway
and steamer service radiating from
it in every direction. It is thorough
ly modern, and the construction of
its buildings, except that of private
residences, bears the impress of Am
erican architecture. Many of the
smaller buildings, and practically all
of the private homes, however, are
built in the Japanese style, in which
wood is the principal material of
construction.
The Inland Sea on which Kobe is
situated, is a beautiful body of wa
ter, on whose bosom float some 950
little islands. The view that one gets
from the deck of a steamer of the
many islands in this Inland Sea. and
the hills and mountains in the back
ground, is one of surpassing charm.
Kobe is a city of fascinating shops
selling silk goods, embroideries, cu
rios, damascenes, pearls and all sorts
of Japanese ware.
OSAKA: Before leaving Kobe.
Monsignor McCormick, Chancellor of
the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and I
went to see the City of Osaka—the
second largest city in Japan, and one
of the very large cities of the world.
It has a population of 2,654,000. It is
called the “Pittsburgh of Japan," be
cause of its steel and iron mills, and
its great industrial activity. The city
contains numerous canals, for which
reason it is known as “The iCty of
Canals and Bridges.” Osaka is a
strictly industrial city, and it does not
contain many points of interest. The
pall of smoke hanging over the city
does remind one of Pittsburgh, the
“Smoky Citv.”
In Kobe the N. Y. K. Line gave a
dinner in honor of Cardinal Dough
erty and the visiting Bishops and
priests. Addresses were made in
Japanese, French and English. After
a tour of the city we returned to the
“Fatsuta Marn.” At the next, dock
we noticed the “Empress of Japan,”
a Canadian Pacific boat, carrying
many Americans home from the Con
gress.
YOKOHAMA: The next afternoon
as the “Tatsuta Maru” drew near to
the dock in the harbor of Yokohama,
it was evident that a very impressive
committee of welcome was waiting ot
the pier. Many a shining silk hat and
cut-a-way coat was in evidence, and
in the background stood a row' of
sleek and handsome motor cars. We
were to learn later that they were
city officials and some members of
the Japanese Foreign Office. The
automobiles were from the Foreign
Office also.
Japanese people do not shake hands
but substitute as their mode of greet
ing a series of bows; so there was
much bowing when we finally land-
ed.
Every one of the Japanese officials
who met the Cardinal when he step
ped ashore spoke flawless English.
They had not studied in our Ameri
can universities in vain. Our party
took their places in the cars assigned
to them, and were conducted by mo
torcade to visit several of the Catho
lic institutions in the city, concluding
our series of visits by stopping at the
ApostOlate Delegation, where Arch
bishop Marella, formerly auditor of
the Apostolic Delegation in Washing
ton under Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi,
gave a reception in honor of the Car
dinal
There his Eminence was informed
that the Emperor of Japan would re
ceive him the next day, and there al
so he received the invitation of the
Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Hya-
shi, to have dinner at the Foreign
Office that same evening at 8 o’clock.
The invitation included all the mem
bers of the Cardinal’s entourage. In
cluded in the invitation were also
Archbishop Mitty, of San Francisco;
Bishop McCloskey, of Jaro, Philip-
ine Islands, and Bishop Byrne, of
an Juan, Porto Rico.
The dinner proved an interesting
experience and one could not help
feeling what a happy change in atti
tude was represented by the fact that
the Prime Minister of a pagan gov
ernment, which had once persecuted
the Church, should have invited a
Cardinal and a group of Catholic
Bishops to sit at his table.
JAPANESE HOSPITALITY: Upon
our arrival at the Foreign Office
shortly before 8 o’clock that evening,
after laying aside our coats and hats,
we were met by a Master of Cero-
monies, who conducted us to a little
“maps" spread out on a small table in
the reception hall. This was a “map”
of the dining room and indicated the
place of each at the table; The idea
was good. It prevented the embar
rassment often noticeable at a func
tion of this kind, resulting from the
guests searching for their proper
places. Before you entered the din
ing room you knew exactly where to
go. This is a little thing, but it man
ifested the Japanese thoroughness
and attention to detail.
During the course of the dinner the
Prime Minister delivered an address
which pleased us all. He spoke of
his admiration for the Catholic
Church and for the good work it was
doing throughout the Empire. Strange
words these—coming from the head
of a pagan government, and at a time
when certain Christian governments
are trying to crush the Church. Car
dinal Dougherty made a very grace
ful reply. At my side during the din
ner sat a former Japanese ambassa
dor to the United States. _
After the dinner the members of
our party were conducted to the Im
perial Hotel, where we were lodged
as the guests of the Japanese govern
ment.
THE EMPEROR: The next morning
after Mass, automobiles from the For
eign Office called at the hotel to con
duct the Cardinal and his suite to the
Imperial Palace, where the Cardinal
was to have an audience with the
Emperor. We rode across the city,
and soon found ourselves within the
quiet grounds of the Palace. Uni
formed attendants in French cos
tumes, strange to say, of the 17th cen
tury, greeted the Cardinal, and con
ducted him and the rest of us to a
reception room. We waited there
until the Cardinal and the Apostolic
Delegate had their audience. As we
left the palace the Cardinal told us
that one of the first questions the
Emperor asked him was ::How is the
Holy Father?”
The next thing on the program was
a visit to two Japanese shrines. This
visit was of patricular interest and
importance! and in a true sense was
history making. A word of explana
tion of this statement is in order.
From time immemorial all good
Japanese citizens, especially those
holding official government positions,
have been obliged at certain times of
the year to visit the Meiji Shrine and
the Shrine of the Japanese Soldiers
in Tokyo. Shinto priests were in
charge. of these buildings and conse
quently. since a visit to them had all
the appearance of participation in pa
gan worship, they were forbidden to
Catholics. This put Catholics in a
bad light with the government, and
made them appear unpatriotic. Stud
ents in Japanese schools were requir
ed to make these ceremonial visits
and when some years ago the govern
ment threatened to close Catholic
schools because Catholic students re
frained from conforming to the na
tional usage.
PATRIOTIC SHRINES: Archbishop
Mooney, recently appointed head of
the newly created Archdiocese of De
troit, decided to make a special study
of the question and submit his find
ings to the Holy See. He was trans
ferred to the United States before
his negotiations could be completed,
but his idea was continued by his
successor, Archbishop Paul Marella.
After long study, including much
correspondence with the Japanese
government, and with the Holy See,
the fact stood out that a visit to the
Shrines was merely a patriotic act,
without any religious character. It
would be like visiting the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier in Washington
—a perfectly legitimate act, of course.
In view of the facts thus brought to
light, the Holy See issued an instruc
tion to the effect that thereafter Jap
anese Catholics could, with a clear
conscience, make the prescribed visits
to the Shrines.
This instruction went into effect
shortly before the Cardinal reached
Tokyo, and it was by invitation of
the Apstolate Delegate, and accom
panied by the Archbishop of Tokyo,
Archbishop Chambon ,that the Car
dinal and the rest of us visited the
Japanese Shrines. Their visit took
place in a formal and official man
ner and was heralded throughout Ja-
pan as a great boom to Japanese
Catholics because it lifted an age-eld
restriction, and opened a new era for
the Church in that country.
At the Shrines we met indeed the
Shino priests, who were dressed cu
riously enough in a garment closely
resembling a Chasauable; at each
g lace a priest made an address to the
ardinal, but not one word of a re
ligious nature was said. It was pure
ly a patriotic address.
U. S. AMBASSADOR: Having done
our patriotic duty to Japan, there
awaited us another delightful surprise
at the American Embassy, where the
American Ambassador and his wife,
Mr. and Mrs. Grew, gave a dinner to
the Cardinal and his party. Present
at the dinner were the Ambassadors of
other nations represented in Japan,
with their wives. Mr. and Mrs. Grew
are delightful people, and surely must
be giving to the Japanese people a
splendid impression of the American
people. After dinner we adjourned to
the beautiful lawn of the Embassy—
where some amateur moving pictures
were taken. After a little while the
Belgian Ambassador begged to be ex
cused. He had an engagement at some
country club. This gentleman looked
every day of sixty years and yet he
was going to play tennis! We bid
adieu to our charming hosts, for it
was time to sail for the United States.
The “Tatsuta Maru” was scheduled
to sail shortly before noon, but the
hour of departure was postponed until
4 o’clock on account of the Cardinal’s
engagement at the Amreican Embas
sy.
We reached the boat only a few min
utes before sailing time, and found
that it seemed almost inextricably
tangled with the dock by means of a
maze of literally thousands of paper
streamers. A large crowd was at the
dock to say goodbye to friends, and
among them was our friend^ Arch
bishop Marella. Promptly at 5 we
pulled away from the pier; the maze
of colored paper broke, and we were
soon headed for the Pacific Ocean,
with Honolulu nine days away as our
first stop.
For nine long days we saw nothing
but sky and sea. The ocean was truly
Pacific, but we were glad when we got
a glimpse of land again and as we ap
proached Honolulu, where the “Tat
suta Maru” was to remain for 24
hours.
HONOLULU: We had no sooner
tied up to the dock in that city, when
representatives of Catholics of Hono
lulu, priests and laymen, came on
board bearing the traditional Ha
waiian sign of welcome, the leis, gar
lands of which, fragrant with spring
flowers, were placed over the shoul
ders of practically every one on board.
We went to the Bishop’s house,
where a dinner and reception in hon
or of the Cardinal were given.
The next day' we toured the city and
surrounding hills and countryside.
Views of majestic mountain scenery,
and of the ocean greeted us at every
turn of the road. The Hawaiian Isl
ands are a terrestrial paradise where
it is always perpetual June.
The next day we began the last lap
of our Pacific voyage, with San Fran
cisco as our next stop. After five
days of fair sailing, we entered the
Golden Gate. What a joy to see again
the shores of our native land! Passing
under the new San Francisco-Oakland
Bridge, we were soon at the dock, and
after the usual customs’ formalities,
we were brought to the home of Arch
bishop Mitty, where we were to stay
until after the public reception which
the Catholics of San Francisco were
to give to the Cardinal the following
evening.
The Archbishop of San Francisco
and the Mayor made addresses of wel
come, to which Cardinal Dougherty
responded. The occasion was a very
happy one, and we enjoyed it, but all
the time we were thinking of home—
so near now, and yet still so far. The
next morning the Archbishop and the
priests of the Cathedral accompanied
us to the station. Then began the long
cross-country journey. It was good
to know that every turn of the wheels
brought ps nearer home. One of the
unusual features of this journey was
the fact that Mass was said on the
train on a portable altar that we had
with us.
HOME, SWEET HOME: On March
12, I reached Savannah,after a most
memorable and eventful journey that
brought me ’round the world. De
lightful were the many experiences
en route, but after all there is no place
like home, and Savannah never look
ed so good to me as it did when I saw,
as I approached the city, the spire of
the Cathedral towering over the city.
BISHOP HUGH LAMB of Phila
delphia and Dr. Patrick F. Scanlon,
managing editor of the Brooklyn
Tablet, received the honorary degree
of Doctor of Laws from St. Joseph’*
College, Philadelphia,